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Clinton Says Only She Can Stop Republicans

January 9, 2016 at 6:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 80 Comments

Hillary Clinton has released an aggressive new attack ad, fanning fears about the main Republican presidential candidates to make the point that she, and no other Democrat, “can stop them,” the New York Times reports.

Dan Balz: “The more the Republican candidates have amped up their rhetoric, the more they have triggered a sharp response from the Democrats. Hillary Clinton, who said last fall that she is proud to think of Republicans as enemies, never seems happier on the campaign trail than when she is denouncing the other party as one captured by extremists.”

Trump Praises North Korean Leader

January 9, 2016 at 4:37 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 65 Comments

Donald Trump said that North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, deserves “credit” for taking over his country at such a young age, Business Insider reports.

Said Trump: “If you look at North Korea, this guy, I mean, he’s like a maniac, OK? And you’ve got to give him credit. How many young guys — he was like 26 or 25 when his father died — take over these tough generals.”

He added: “He goes in, he takes over, and he’s the boss. It’s incredible. He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn’t play games. And we can’t play games with him. Because he really does have missiles. And he really does have nukes.”

Trump Is Only Getting Stronger

January 9, 2016 at 3:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

GOP strategist Alex Castellanos emails with a link his latest piece which argues, “If I had to bet today, I’d put my money on Donald Trump winning the Republican nomination and, as the underdog, becoming the next President of the United States.”

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Bloomberg Polled Possible Three-Way Race

January 9, 2016 at 12:39 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 51 Comments

New York Times: “Some political leaders, eyeing the Republican split, are sensing opportunity. Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire media executive and former New York mayor, was intrigued enough by the prospect of Mr. Trump’s becoming the Republican standard-bearer that he commissioned a poll last month testing how he would fare against Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, according to two sources close to Mr. Bloomberg.”

“Whatever Mr. Bloomberg decides, the election so far has been upended by voters who live far from his world and, for the first time in years, feel as if their voices are being heard.”

Trump Would Let Children Run His Businesses

January 9, 2016 at 12:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Associated Press: “On the most basic level, federal ethics rules would not bar Trump from personally running his business interests from the White House. But he has said he expects to hand over the reins at the Trump Organization to his children if he wins.”

Town and Country: Ivanka Trump talks of being a mogul, mother and more.

Rivals Dig at Rubio’s Masculinity

January 9, 2016 at 12:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

Politico: “Only during an election cycle in which a billionaire who lives in a gold-plated Fifth Avenue apartment serves as the blue-collar candidate could it make any sense that a first-generation American who’s been in debt much of his adult life can be so easily depicted as an effete elitist for wearing a pair of $130 boots — shiny and fashion-forward as those boots may be.”

“Yet here we are. Roughly 48 hours after a photo of the high-heeled boots Marco Rubio wore in New Hampshire went viral, several Republican competitors are exploiting the opportunity to tease the young senator.”

Republicans Grow More Positive About Cruz

January 9, 2016 at 11:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Sen. Ted Cruz “has emerged as the Republican Party’s strongest challenger to frontrunner Donald Trump, inching up in Economist/YouGov Polls. He is the second choice of 40% of Trump supporters among Republican primary voters, and his favorable ratings have climbed 20 points in the last six months.”

“Among all Republican primary voters, Cruz is the clear second choice. More than four in ten primary voters name Cruz as either their first or second choice. But Trump is still ahead of both the senators: nearly half say the New York businessman is their first or second choice.”

For members: Why Cruz may be able to unite Republicans.

Cruz Is Hated by the Right People

January 9, 2016 at 11:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

Byron York: “I sent Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler an email asking how Cruz has made unpopularity work for him. Tyler sent back a response with no words at all but rather a graphic of a Gallup daily tracking poll on Republican candidate favorability… Cruz was at the top of the chart, with 61% of Republicans saying they have a favorable opinion of him, versus 16% with an unfavorable opinion — a 45-point net favorable rating that put Cruz ahead of Ben Carson (40 point net favorable), Marco Rubio (35), Donald Trump (24), and the rest of the GOP field.”

“No explanation required. The Republican establishment is held in such contempt that, when it comes to the party’s base, a candidate’s best way to get ahead is to be hated by all the right people.”

A Century of Political Spin

January 9, 2016 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Greenberg: “We gripe about the suffocating presence of ‘spin’: the policies tested by pollsters and focus groups, the slogans and laugh lines penned by speechwriters, the staged photo ops and town-hall meetings… But the spin that we find so pervasive today is nothing new. It actually goes back more than a century. In fact, all those revered past presidents were pioneers in honing the modern methods of image-making and message-craft that we now so often denounce.”

“Since Theodore Roosevelt’s day, when candidates began campaigning for votes and presidents started regularly courting the public, politicians have been refining the tools and techniques of what we now call spin. Spin turns out to be woven into the fabric of American politics, and though it is hardly an unmixed good, it is inseparable from many of the signature achievements of our greatest leaders.”

Kasich Snags Portman’s Endorsement

January 9, 2016 at 8:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) soon will endorse Gov. John Kasich for president, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“Top Ohio Republican backs another top Ohio Republican. That’s how it always works, no? In most cases you would be correct. But Portman’s case is somewhat special. Consider that he served in the White House under President George H.W. Bush and later returned for two high-profile posts under President George W. Bush. Family loyalties might have compelled Portman to get behind Jeb Bush’s candidacy.”

Trump Way Ahead in New Hampshire

January 9, 2016 at 7:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

A new NH News 1 poll in New Hampshire finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 32%, followed by Jeb Bush at 12%, John Kasich at 12%, Chris Christie at 11%, Ted Cruz at 11%, Marco Rubio at 10% and Carly Fiorina at 5%.

Paul Calls for End of Undercard Debate

January 9, 2016 at 7:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

Sen. Rand Paul “thinks it’s time to do away with the undercard Republican presidential debate,” Politico reports.

Said Paul: “I’m not sure where the purpose is anymore, if there ever was one. I think if you have a national campaign, you’ve raised a significant amount of money, you’re on the ballot, you’ve employed staff and you’re actively campaigning, you’ve got to be in the debate.”

Rubio Confuses Iowa Supporters

January 9, 2016 at 7:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

New York Times: “Many of Mr. Rubio’s supporters in Iowa see him as something of a political commitment-phobe — standoffishly gracing Republican voters with his presence in abbreviated spurts, then disappearing just as quickly. This was a busy week for Mr. Rubio in Iowa: five events over three days. Mr. Cruz did five a day.”

“But his drive-by campaigning style and unorthodox, underlying strategy — deliberately keeping expectations low about how well he will do here in the Feb. 1 caucuses or in other early contests, while maintaining an active and expensive political operation — are raising questions about what he is running for. Is he hoping to win? To place?”

Politico: Rubio’s Iowa path leaves him squeezed on all sides

ISIS Militant Executes His Own Mother

January 9, 2016 at 7:18 am EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

“In a shocking low even by the standards of the so-called Islamic State, a militant has publicly executed his own mother after accusing her of apostasy,” The Independent reports.

“The activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RIBSS) said 20-year-old jihadi Ali Saqr al-Qasem shot his mother Lena, 45, in the head with an assault rifle in front of a large crowd.”

Cruz Just Ahead of Trump in Iowa

January 8, 2016 at 9:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

A new Fox News poll in Iowa shows Ted Cruz with an edge over Donald Trump in the GOP nomination race, 27% to 23%. Marco Rubio follows in third place at 15%, Ben Carson is at 9%, Jeb Bush at 7% and Rand Paul at 5%.

Trump Holds Big Lead in New Hampshire

January 8, 2016 at 9:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

A new Fox News poll in New Hampshire shows Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 33%, followed by Marco Rubio at 15%, Ted Cruz at 12%, Jeb Bush at 9%, John Kasich at 7%, Chris Christie at 5% and Ran Paul at 5%.

In the Democratic race, Bernie Sanders is ahead of Hillary Clinton by double-digits, 50% to 37%.

Trump Maintains Large National Lead

January 8, 2016 at 9:10 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

A new Fox News poll finds Donald Trump still leading the GOP presidential race nationally with 35%, followed by Ted Cruz at 20%, Marco Rubio at 13% and Ben Carson at 10%.

All other candidates are at 4% or less.

Abbott Wants Power to Nullify U.S. Laws

January 8, 2016 at 3:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 179 Comments

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) “wants to dramatically curtail the U.S. Supreme Court’s power and slash federal oversight of states through a national convention to amend the U.S. Constitution,” the Houston Chronicle reports.

“Convening such a national gathering is allowed under the U.S. Constitution, but would be a difficult proposition. It would require approval by 34 states — including Texas through its Legislature. Abbott is not calling for a special legislative session in Texas, leaving the issue to the 2017 legislative session.”

Dallas Morning News: “Along with the speech, Abbott released a nearly 70-page plan – part American civics lesson, part anti-Obama diatribe – detailing nine proposed constitutional amendments that he said would unravel the federal government’s decades-long power grab and restore authority over economic regulation and other matters to the states.”